


you keep my head afloat

by thingswelostinthefire



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Fainting, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2016-08-05
Packaged: 2018-07-29 11:49:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7683364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thingswelostinthefire/pseuds/thingswelostinthefire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Tyler passes out during a show.</p>
            </blockquote>





	you keep my head afloat

**Author's Note:**

> I can't sleep, so you get this!
> 
> Title from Composed by Mutemath.

Tyler Joseph knew his limits. He knew when he was pushing himself too hard, and when he needed a break. He had gotten dizzy and faint far too many times to not know when enough was enough, but thankfully he had never passed out on stage during a show.

Well, there's a first time for everything.

It was at the beginning of the medley when Tyler started to feel lightheaded. Unfortunately, he couldn't just stop performing to take a sip of water. Well, he _could_ , but he didn't want to ruin the hype he and Josh had worked all show to build from the crowd.

Tyler persevered. It wasn't the first time he had felt like this during a show, and it wouldn't be the last. He's only human.

They were coming up on Fall Away, one of Tyler's favorite songs to perform, when he actually began losing consciousness. In retrospect, he should've stopped the show at that moment, but he felt so _alive_ , and he knew the fans did as well. He wouldn't mess that up just because he was feeling a little tired.

"Every time I feel selfish ambition," he rapped, hearing the crowd cheer and letting it fuel him, rapping faster. And then he felt nothing.

Tyler came back to consciousness five minutes after he collapsed, promptly scaring the life out of Josh and everyone at the show, really. Josh had abandoned his drums and sped over to his friend as soon as he saw the man stumble over air. He broke Tyler's fall, surprisingly, earning loud gasps from the fans.

"Tyler, _Tyler_ ," Josh heard himself say, but he felt like a third party in all of this. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Brad running up to them, scooping Tyler out of Josh's arms and carrying him backstage, Josh following closely behind, worry clouding his vision.

"What happened?" Tyler asked when he came to, scaring everyone back into reality. Josh noticed the whole crew was backstage, and grew even more worried when he saw that they all shared the same expression: fear. This wasn't good.

"You passed out during Fall Away," Josh spoke up. "You don't remember?"

"No," Tyler said, groaning lightly as he tried to sit up. Brad's arms followed his movements, more than ready to force Tyler to lie back down if he faltered even a little.

"I called for an ambulance," Mark offered, earning a glare from Tyler.

"I don't need one of those. All I need is some water, and then I need to finish the show." Ben wordlessly handed over a water bottle, and Tyler nodded his thanks.

"What?!" Mark reacted. "That's bullshit, Ty. You can't go back out there, you just fucking _fainted_!"

"Do you not get it? I need to finish the show!" Josh just looked at him, sympathy filling his eyes. Tyler scoffed. "Really, guys?"

"Tyler, I know exactly how you feel, okay, remember when I had a really bad anxiety attack that one time? You insisted on me sitting the rest of the show out and had to rely on your _laptop_. Humor us, please. You need to go, to check for a concussion, or something." Josh pleaded with his eyes.

"You caught him, Josh," Ben said, clearly not offering Josh any backup. "He didn't hit his head."

"Then - then we'll just have the people in the ambulance check him out really quick. No hospitals unless they insist, but we have to cancel the rest of the show."

Tyler looked at Josh for a moment before slowly nodding his head. "No hospitals?"

"Unless they insist, Ty," Josh sighed, knowing Tyler would throw a fit if hospitalization ended up being a requirement.

"Fine."

" _Thank_ you. Now, I'm gonna go and talk to the crowd. I'm sure they're out of their minds with worry. _You_ need to call your mom, before the fans turn this into a hashtag or something." Josh patted his best friend on the back, taking a deep breath as he walked out on stage.


End file.
